Shakespeare’s wife - Metaphor - it was the

rumours he disliked world they spent their

her but Duffy tries to time in and created for
dispel these.
Anne Hathaway
 themselves. “spinning”
implies passion.
Allusions to
2nd best bed was Shakespeare’s work -
more personal as Macbeth, Hamlet, The
guests stayed in the 'Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed ...' Tempest.
first.
(from Shakespeare's will)
Metaphor - shooting
stars are special and
Metaphor - oral sex. rare - just like his work.
Pearls have The bed we loved in was a spinning world
 He was inspired by
connotations of their passion.
being precious, rare of forests, castles, torchlight, clifftops, seas

or having value - this
was the inspiration where we would dive for pearls. My lover's words
 Her femininity is
for his work.
contrasted to his
were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses
 masculinity. Another
Verb = a doing word. on these lips; my body now a softer rhyme
 reference to sound
Noun = person and words tying in to
Literary representation to his, now echo, assonance; his touch
 the idea of their love
of them having sex. being like poetry.
Enjambment of “touch” a verb dancing in the centre of a noun.

to pause on the
sensation of his touch. Some nights, I dreamed he'd written me, the bed
 She was his muse/
inspiration - their
a page beneath his writer's hands. Romance
 love created some of
Things which bring on his greatest work.
excitement. and drama played by touch, by scent, by taste.
 Too perfect to be
real?
In the other bed, the best, our guests dozed on,

The one that people
thought he was dribbling their prose. My living laughing love -
 List to reflect
depriving her of. continuous passion
I hold him in the casket of my widow's head
 of their love.
Incorporates all
“Dozed” has as he held me upon that next best bed. senses - takes over
connotations of completely.
boredom, lack of Alliteration - Light sounds
excitement. “Dribbling” Funeral images -
suggests a non- Carol Ann Duffy create a gentle image of
this poem has been
positive qualities. Sounds
continuous flow without like she is reflecting happily. a reflection as he is
power behind it. Prose Dash suggests she is about now gone.
seen to be boring Determined to keep
her memories alive - to reveal something else.
compared to the drama
or poetry of even though he’s gone
Shakespeare and his work and their love
She holds on to these memories passionately
Anne. lives on.
just like their love. Rhyming couplet draws
attention to the memories of them in bed - their
relationship was stronger than people thought.
Themes
* Love
* Loss
Structure mirrors sonnet. 14 lines
* Importance of language
ending in a rhyming couplet - paying
homage to Shakespeare’s work.